


Glimpse

by crystalfox



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: AU, Angst, F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-08 21:10:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16436831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalfox/pseuds/crystalfox
Summary: Leia unexpectedly learns something about her mother.





	Glimpse

Leia's mind raced, filled with ideas after the first major meeting of the senators of the New Republic, there was so much work to be done but she was optimistic and eager to get started. They had met on a neutral planet near many major star systems, it was one Leia was unfamiliar with but she had a vague recollection of hearing its name in the past. That wasn't at the forefront of her mind at that moment, she was focused on thinking about the meeting and what had been discussed. As she hurried through the streets to her temporary accommodation, she realised she hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings and was in an unfamiliar part of the city. 

Leia stopped, in order to try and get her bearings, as she turned around, peering at the different streets, something - or rather someone - caught her eye. It was a woman, dressed in a long, formal emerald green dress, standing at the entrance to a narrow street across the road, and she was looking straight at Leia. 

The woman looked exactly like her mother. Leia stared in disbelief, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, and as she studied the woman, she realised, it was her mother.  _Impossible,_ she thought to herself, a shiver of fear running through her. Was she seeing a ghost? The woman - _her mother_ \- seemed faded, almost translucent, in comparison to the buildings near her. But she was there - beautiful and dignified with kind eyes and a warm smile, just how Leia remembered her. And the more Leia stared, the less frightened she felt, and, within moments, all she felt was bittersweet sadness and that familiar, painful, pang of love that she had felt for her parents ever since their deaths. 

“Mom?” Leia whispered, her voice full of longing, as she blinked back tears. “Mom?” She called louder, this time, almost shouting across the street. But Breha didn’t reply, she simply smiled, lovingly, and slowly turned, disappearing down the narrow passage, briefly looking over her shoulder at Leia, as if in a silent invitation to follow. 

And so she did follow, hurrying across the street and into the passageway, which was now empty. Sighing heavily in frustration and confusion, Leia was about to head back towards the main road when she noticed an ornate doorway a few metres in front of her. 

Above the door was a sign with bold, deep gold letters, and it read "The Breha Organa Library". Leia let out a deep, shuddering breath, she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. How had she never heard of this place? 

Placing one shaking hand on the entrance button, she pressed it, cautious but curious. Inside, there was a nicely decorated entrance hall, with a single figure behind a desk, who looked up as Leia walked in.

* * *

 

"Senator Organa!" The young Twi'lek exclaimed, recognition evident in her surprised tone, as she jumped up from her seat behind the desk. "It's an honour!"

"Please call me Leia. And your name?" Leia asked, kindly, so used to being recognised that this was all second nature now.

"Chewzepa. But people call me Chewie for short."

Leia laughed, "Do they? I have a friend called Chewie too."

Chewie beamed, “Ah, yes, Chewbacca! I’ve learned a lot about the war since I started working here.”

“You have? Then perhaps you can tell me some more about this place....” Leia trailed off, suddenly embarrassed at her lack of knowledge about something involving her own mother. “This will probably seem strange but I didn’t know my mother opened a library here.”

”That’s not surprising, this, and the other libraries, were sort of .... kept under the radar as much as possible. Would you like a tour?”

”I’d love one.”

Chewzepa lead her through a set of doors into a vast room, with seemingly endless aisles of holobooks and holorecords. Soft, blue light strips on the floor glowed steadily. It took Leia’s breath away. 

"During Imperial rule, your mother set up many libraries like this on different planets across the galaxy. The cover story was that she was trying to improve illiteracy but they were really a place for Rebel Alliance spies to recruit others, send coded messages, and a way for potential Imperial targets to hide records of their culture's history in case they were destroyed. Thanks to Queen Organa, extremely valuable information was exchanged, decoded, and kept safe. The libraries have always been open to the public as well, but since the end of the war, we’ve introduced more free services - such as reading groups, language lessons, cultural exchange programs, and we are working on coming up with more.”

”This is....” Leia shook her head in amazement, “Incredible.”

"I’m so glad you think so, it really is an honour to show you around. I can send you more details about the other libraries if you’d like? I’ll just need your contact information.”

”Yes, thank you, that would be wonderful.” 

Leia and Chewzepa headed back to the front desk, taking a different way which allowed Leia to see more of the library. It was beautiful - there were comfortable chairs with small tables in cosy alcoves, as well as large, wide tables perfect for group meetings, and stunning holopictures of planets from across the galaxy on the walls. The whole place was silent and empty, but it didn’t feel intimidating, just peaceful. 

“Can I ask how you found the library?”

Leia didn’t know what to say, she had been so impressed by her discovery that she had momentarily forgotten how she stumbled across it. “Just...by accident.”

 

* * *

 

 

When Leia returned to Han, she felt totally lost and absolutely exhausted. The strange vision of her mother had left her feeling confused and scared about what she had actually seen, but she had also been reminded of all the wonderful memories that, while still painful, were becoming more comforting as time went on. And then the library, _Oh the library!_  Leia had vague knowledge that her mother was involved with charitable work on other planets but she didn’t know exactly what she had been doing. It made her terribly sad that she was only just finding out now, after Breha’s death, about her involvement in the Rebellion. 

Han had asked what was wrong, and she had told him the whole story, as they sat cuddling together on the sofa.

”You should talk to Luke.”

”Why?”

”Didn’t you tell me something about...Jedi ghosts or something? If he can see them, then maybe you can too.”

”I’d forgotten all about that....” Leia wriggled out of Han’s embrace. “I’m going to speak to him now.” She headed towards her bag to get her comms device, before running back to Han, and giving him a brief kiss. “Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

 

Lando appeared on the holo, smiling widely as he saw Leia. 

“Leia! How are you?”

“I’m well, and you?”

“Good, just off to an evening meeting.” He shrugged. “Work never stops it seems. You wanna talk to Luke?”

“Yes, please. If he’s free.”

Lando glanced over his shoulder at something out of sight, “He’s just out of the ‘fresher.” He called out to Luke, “Make yourself decent, it’s your sister.” He smiled once again at Leia. “I have to go, take care.”

“You too.” She laughed softly as Luke appeared on the holo kissing Lando on the cheek. 

“See you later.” Luke bid goodbye to Lando as he left, leaving Leia and Luke alone.

“Something’s wrong?” Luke asked, frowning, as he peered at Leia on the holo.

“Straight to the point.” She smirked. 

“I’m always happy to do small talk but I can tell something’s worrying you.”

Taking a deep breath, she told her story for the second time that night, as Luke listened. 

“Then Han reminded me about the Force ghosts you told me about.”

“Right. But....the thing is Leia, they’re Jedis, they have the Force. I’m not sure what you saw was the same thing. I mean, I don’t know for sure but ....” He trailed off, an apologetic look on his face.

“But my mother didn’t have the Force so she wouldn’t be able to appear like that.” She finished for him, realising, deep down, she knew that all along. 

“Maybe...and this is just an idea, maybe you haven’t properly grieved your loss.” Luke spoke softly and carefully. “It’s unlikely that it was a Force ghost but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other types of life after death that we don’t know about. Perhaps your mother wanted to show you the library to help you deal with your grief? To....send you a little message of love and hope. To tell you she’s still watching over you.”

Leia blinked back tears, “I like that idea. And I think you’re right...I haven’t wanted to deal with things, to allow myself to think about my mother and father. I’ve been so busy with the senate and....Oh, Luke...it’s just so _hard_  to think of them and of Alderaan. But seeing that library and learning of what she did during the Rebellion....”

“It must have been difficult but good? In some way.”

“Yes, you know...I was scared at first, when I saw her, _shocked,_  but it was special too. Being able to see her one more time.”

Luke nodded, “I understand.”

Stifling a yawn, Leia ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, Luke, it’s been a long day but thank you for talking to me. Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine, go, get some rest. Just don’t forget, you’ve got Han, and me, and Lando, if you want to talk. Grieving isn’t easy but we’re all here for you. I love you, goodnight.”

“I love you too, goodnight.”

Leia powered down her comms device and got ready to join Han in bed, her mind filled with that image of her mother. The ghost or memory or _whatever_  it was she saw. She closed her eyes and whispered _“Love you, mom.”_

 

**Author's Note:**

> The fantasy name generator brought up 'Chewzepa' as an option for a female Twi'lek name and I just had to use it!
> 
> Feedback/constructive criticism/comments welcome!


End file.
